Warbird Information Exchange

Hal,
Not all of us forget, but you need to thump the tub a bit more to attract people to your wonderful cluster of aircraft and the person responsable for it - Astronaut Wm. Anders

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

Oops, make that 13. I forgot about the SNJ-4 presently parked at Ramona...

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"They can teach MONKEYS to fly better than that"

http://www.heritageflight.org
http://www.bravo369.org

You have an excellent point, more advertising would help, but... that's all I'll say

And this year is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission!

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"They can teach MONKEYS to fly better than that"

http://www.heritageflight.org
http://www.bravo369.org

I don't normaly post here, as i'm usually just a lurker, but Spitfire TE294 is close to my heart. TE294 was recovered by Mark De Vries. He was restoring the aircraft in South Africa before coming to Canada with his family and the Spitfire to seek medical treatment for himself.

It was Marks dream to build his own Spitfire and it was his medical condition that forced the sale to Comox of his Spitfire. I became friends with Mark when he came to Canada and was looking for a home for TE294. We met each other's families and went to airshows together and we were in constant contact over the phone and via emails. I was deeply affected by his passing away on the 25th of January 2006. He was full of enthusiasium for Spitfires until the very end.

As such I've kept a close watch on Comox's restoration of his Spitfire and have impatiently waited for Comox to finish the project, so I could see my friends dream come to life. Having been to the open houses that Comox has had over the years and some insite into the project from Marks comments on the project the possible sale of the Spitfire comes as no surprise and was forseen by Mark years before his death. Comox it appears - and this is just my own observation - seriously misjudged the time, money and effort required to rebuild a Spitfire to flying condition. What position they would be in if they had gone with their first choice of a Lancaster, I don't know.

The possible sale of the Spitfire saddens me as the chance of my seeing it fly regularly are now slim as it will most likely not be based here in BC. I was hoping that the Spitfire would help kickstart the Warbird scene in BC, as for enthusiasts like me their isn't much to go see nearby (Vancouver Island).

Brian- Could you email me- I've lost your email address. Thanks-

Neil Medcalf

Yeah, I was so excited about the Y2K Spitfire too, and also had hopes that it would kick-start the warbird movement in BC again.

I'd be very upset to see it go because I was really looking forward to having something exciting showing up to airshows and what not. As of right now the coolest local warbird would probably be a Harvard, or Tigermoth, or Fleet Finch. I don't want to take anything away from the vintage flyers in the area, because that is very, very, strong, but this is directed towards the warbird world. Anyways, for anything exciting to come to an airshow it generally has to come from hours and hours away.

I'm doing the darn best I can to at least bring warbirds into my museum, but finding support to do so, and the space to display them is a challenge. With house prices so ridiculously high in the Vancouver area only the very very rich have extra money. And for them, preserving history is lower on the food chain than finding a cure for cancer, or feeding the hungry, etc, etc.

An up-hill battle to say the least.

Cheers,

David

P.S. Neil, I wouldn't mind getting in touch with you, and Brian and maybe we can do something.

One of the reasons I followed the Y2k project was because of the Can do approach of the rebuild.I knew they would come to a halt when it got near to the wings.It is a frustrating job but the work I have seen via the updates makes you believe anything is possible.

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Those who think it,s impossible should leave the ones doing it alone..
http://www.spitfireprojecta58-27.com/

Rossco,

I have to totally agree with you on that. The work that they were able to accomplish to day has been quite remarkable.

I learned that the Y2K Spitfire was also offered to the CMF, but it was turned down because it was viewed as a daunting task. It also didn't help that the CMF had bigger issues to deal with at the time.

I can't wait to see her completed and flown.

Cheers,

David

I can confirm that there will be some very, very positive news regarding the Comox Y2K Spitfire in the near future. Negotiations and arrangements have been ongoing for some time and we are rapidly approaching a conclusion. You will see a posting here in the next two weeks. Stay tuned.

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Terry

Thank you Terry!

-David (waiting in Vancouver for the word from Comox!)

Latest rumour I am hearing is that Vintage Wings of Canada is negotiating to be the new owner of the a/c.
For the Spifire itself, this is great news as we are all aware of the restoration abilities of VW of C.
She will no doubt be restored at a quicker pace now.
On the other side , sad for our Western Canadians since she'll most likely be based in the east.
However another part of the rumour is the Vw oc C are thinking about keeping the Spit out west for about a year after she starts flying again so that she can be seen by Western Canada.
That would be great thing to do.

Fleet16b

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...it was a plane adrift beneath the moon moving serenely thru beams like an angel of the night .....fair as a song ........aloof from mortal dreams

This is what I heard this weekend at Geneseo, I think it would be a nice to let the Spitfire stay out west for a period of time for people to see.

She will look great in formation with the VWoC P51.

Cheers Dave C

Interesting news. I sure wish she'd stay out here for good... but it's going to a good home. At least it'll be out here for a bit.

I do have to add this comment though:

"Whah whah, they already have a Spitfire, no fair!"


Just curious, who's backing the VWoC? Where doe the millions of dollars come from to be purchasing so many amazing airplanes at such a quick rate?

This doesn't help with my jealousy.

Cheers,

David

The big bucks come from the founder Michael Potter, who by the way is one of Canada's most well off business men and one hell of a nice guy.

Cheers Dave C

Thanks Dave C,

Michael Potter sounds like a good man. I like his taste in airplanes!

Like I said before, Y2K is going to a good home.

Cheers,

David